Licensing and Legal Operations Associate

<div class="content-intro"><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>Kikoff: The Fintech Powering Financial Security at Scale</strong><br>Kikoff is a profitable, pre-IPO fintech company on a mission to empower everyone to achieve financial security. With record revenue growth in 2025 and a unicorn valuation, we've built a suite of products that help millions of people build credit, access liquidity, and save money.<br>We're scaling fast. Join us if you want to build something meaningful and help millions of people move forward financially.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Why Kikoff:</strong></p> <p>This is a consumer fintech startup, and you will be working with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, a strong sense of craftsmanship, and the desire to create lasting work and work relationships. Yes, you can build an exciting business AND have real-life real-customer impact.</p></div><h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">The Role</h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">Kikoff is seeking a State Licensing and Legal Ops Associate to own our state licensing portfolio and support legal operations across the business. This is a hands-on role at the intersection of regulatory compliance and commercial operations. The right candidate brings direct experience managing multi-state licensing activity, strong organizational instincts, and the ability to support contract lifecycle management across a growing set of bank, technology, and vendor partnerships.</p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]">You will work closely with legal, compliance, finance, and the business line team to keep Kikoff properly licensed, well-documented, and operationally tight across regulatory and contractual obligations — and will take the lead in deploying state-of-the-art AI tools to ensure the legal and compliance teams are efficient and effective.</p> <hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5"> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">What You'll Do</h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>State Licensing</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Own and manage Kikoff's state licensing portfolio, including all active licenses, pending applications, and renewal calendars across money transmission, consumer lending, and related license types.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Prepare, submit, and track license applications and renewals through NMLS and directly with state regulators, ensuring timely and accurate filings.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Respond to regulator requests and information requests related to licensing matters.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Maintain current and accurate license records, surety bonds, registered agent information, and statutory documents across all jurisdictions.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Monitor state-level legislative and regulatory changes that affect Kikoff's licensing obligations, and proactively flag material developments to legal and compliance leadership.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Coordinate with finance and legal on financial statement submissions and other license maintenance requirements.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Support expansion into new states by conducting licensing requirement analyses and building out filing timelines for new product launches or program changes.</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Legal and Contract Operations</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Manage the contract lifecycle across Kikoff's bank partnerships, commercial agreements, vendor contracts, and third-party service agreements, including intake, routing, execution, and storage.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Maintain and continuously improve the contract management system and related business processes to ensure all agreements are accurately tracked, version-controlled, and accessible.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Use AI tools to track key contract dates, renewal windows, notice periods, and material obligations, and surface upcoming deadlines to relevant stakeholders.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Coordinate with internal teams on contract redlines, signature workflows, and execution logistics using standard e-signature tooling.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Support due diligence and contracting processes for new partnership opportunities, including organizing document requests and managing data rooms.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Assist legal in drafting and reviewing routine contract amendments, NDAs, and ancillary agreements under attorney supervision.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Build and maintain internal reports and dashboards on licensing status, contract coverage, and pending legal ops items to provide leadership visibility.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Take the lead in using Claude and other AI tools in innovative ways to improve the functioning of the legal and compliance teams.</li> </ul> <hr class="border-border-200 border-t-0.5 my-3 mx-1.5"> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold">What We're Looking For</h3> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">3–5 years of experience in state licensing, legal operations, or regulatory compliance within financial services, FinTech, or a related industry.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Hands-on NMLS experience, including direct responsibility for license applications, renewals, amendments, and MU filings.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Familiarity with consumer lending, money transmission, or similar state-level licensing regimes across multiple jurisdictions.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience supporting or owning a contract management function, including working with CLM tools or maintaining organized contract repositories.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, competing deadlines, and cross-functional stakeholders simultaneously.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">High attention to detail and comfort working in a document-intensive environment with significant regulatory and legal consequences.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interface directly with state regulators and internal business partners.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Comfortable operating independently in a fast-paced environment with a bias toward getting things done.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with AI tools.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Active California Notary Public commission, or ability and willingness to obtain certification upon hire.</li> </ul> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><strong>Nice to Have</strong></p> <ul class="[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3"> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Prior experience at a FinTech operating under a bank partnership or BaaS model.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Exposure to state examinations or regulatory inquiries related to licensing or lending.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with CLM platforms such as Evisort, Ironclad, Juro, or similar.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Experience with productivity tools such as Jira and Monday.com.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Paralegal certification or equivalent legal operations background.</li> <li class="font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2">Working knowledge of federal consumer lending regulations (TILA, ECOA, FCRA) and their intersection with state licensing.</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="title">Base Range</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$107,000</span><span class="divider">&mdash;</span><span>$130,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><p><u>Equal Employment Opportunity Statement</u></p> <p>Kikoff Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to complying with all federal, state, and local laws providing equal employment opportunities and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.</p> <p>Please reference the following for <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights_10_20.pdf" target="_blank">more information</a>.</p></div>